Box score
BOUNTIFUL — Woods Cross may not have been effective at finishing drives Friday night at Viewmont, but the Wildcats did prove plenty capable of keeping possession.
What Woods Cross did well was the difference late.
Starting from its own 46 with 5:29 left in the game, Woods Cross ran all but 7.2 seconds off the clock before giving Viewmont one last play. The Vikings completed a harmless pass, time expired and the Wildcats celebrated a 3-0 victory.
The game was pretty much sealed when quarterback Carter Weierman found wide receiver Braden Freestone for a 7-yard completion on fourth-and-5 from the Viewmont 36 with just under three minutes remaining.
“We had a hard count and they didn’t jump, so we called an audible and snapped the ball. I was looking for a guy open and saw Braden Freestone open and hit him and we got the first down,” Weierman said. “Big play.”
Going forward, the Wildcats just have to figure out how to score touchdowns. Their only points came on a 22-yard Jackson Burbidge field goal with 1:07 left in the third quarter.
Grid View Viewmont’s Cole Brown tackles Woods Cross’ Cole Wardle in a football game at Viewmont in Bountiful on Friday, Oct. 11, 2019. Spenser Heaps, Deseret News Viewmont’s Micah Johnson tumbles after tackling Woods Cross’ Evan Blanchard in a football game at Viewmont High School in Bountiful on Friday, Oct. 11, 2019. Spenser Heaps, Deseret News Viewmont’s Micah Johnson tumbles after tackling Woods Cross’ Evan Blanchard in a football game at Viewmont High School in Bountiful on Friday, Oct. 11, 2019. Spenser Heaps, Deseret News Viewmont quarterback Will Schultz drops back to pass during a football game against Woods Cross at Viewmont High School in Bountiful on Friday, Oct. 11, 2019. Spenser Heaps, Deseret News Woods Cross’ Matt Easton and David Daynes celebrate a defensive stop against Viewmont in a football game at Viewmont High School in Bountiful on Friday, Oct. 11, 2019. Spenser Heaps, Deseret News Viewmont hosts Woods Cross in a football game at Viewmont High School in Bountiful on Friday, Oct. 11, 2019. Spenser Heaps, Deseret News Viewmont hosts Woods Cross in a football game at Viewmont High School in Bountiful on Friday, Oct. 11, 2019. Spenser Heaps, Deseret News Viewmont hosts Woods Cross in a football game at Viewmont High School in Bountiful on Friday, Oct. 11, 2019. Spenser Heaps, Deseret News Viewmont hosts Woods Cross in a football game at Viewmont High School in Bountiful on Friday, Oct. 11, 2019. Spenser Heaps, Deseret News Viewmont hosts Woods Cross in a football game at Viewmont High School in Bountiful on Friday, Oct. 11, 2019. Spenser Heaps, Deseret News Viewmont hosts Woods Cross in a football game at Viewmont High School in Bountiful on Friday, Oct. 11, 2019. Spenser Heaps, Deseret News Viewmont hosts Woods Cross in a football game at Viewmont High School in Bountiful on Friday, Oct. 11, 2019. Spenser Heaps, Deseret News “We marched all the way down the field but then we would just buckle down in the (red zone),” Weierman said. “We’ve just got to put drives together and finish them. We finish all those drives, the score’s a lot different.”
Woods Cross coach Andrew Fresques said he expected a battle, though not necessarily such a low-scoring affair.
“We had a couple mental errors (in the red zone), guys not doing their job,” Fresques said. “We have to do our job. If we do our job and execute, we’re fine, but we have to execute. We can’t panic in the red zone. We should be more cool, calm, collected — just execute.”
Fresques cited adrenaline as a possible factor but put it on himself.
“That’s on me as a coach. I’ve got to get us more prepared,” he said. “We’re down there; we’ve got to score. We’ve got to come away with points every time.”
Woods Cross appeared to be on its way to a touchdown on its opening possession of the game, marching the ball all the way to the Viewmont 8 — a drive that was twice extended by Vikings penalties on third down (a pass interference and a late hit penalty). Viewmont forced a 30-yard field goal attempt and then blocked it.
The drive lasted 16 plays and took nearly nine minutes off the clock.
Two possessions later, Woods Cross reached the Viewmont 5 but then lost 7 on third-and-1. With less than a minute remaining in the half, the Wildcats elected to go for it instead of attempting a 29-yard field goal attempt. The Vikings defense held.
Woods Cross’ lone possession of the third quarter resulted in another red zone opportunity. The Wildcats had first and goal from the Viewmont 10 but had to settle for Burbidge’s field goal.
Woods Cross went for it on fourth-and-1 from the Viewmont 32 with eight minutes left in the game but couldn’t convert.
Viewmont faced similar struggles, though not as extreme. Five of Viewmont’s seven drives reached Woods Cross territory, but only one reached the red zone. The only red zone drive ended on the play that took the ball into the red zone because it was a fourth-down play that resulted in a turnover on downs.
“Our coaches put in hours and hours to prep us for the game and they’ll do anything for us,” Woods Cross defensive end Josh Larsen said. “They love us and we love them. They push us in practice. Give credit to our coaches.”
